Nonprofit’s ShowUP Montclair Event To Benefit ‘Arts Open Hearts’

MONTCLAIR, NJ — The following news release comes courtesy of the Montclair Fund for Educational Excellence. Learn more about posting announcements or events to your local Patch site.

In the spring, The Montclair Fund for Educational Excellence (MFEE) was fully prepared to launch the second iteration of its fierce award-winning talent battle, Showdown Montclair, when we all entered into our own showdown.

Amidst a global pandemic and the uprising of a national movement for racial justice, our community is still deep in the fight to provide quality education and whole-child support for all of the children in our town. But as we shoulder this current uphill climb together, now is not the time to compete. Now is not the time to Showdown. Now is the time to SHOW UP.

On November 7 at 8 p.m., the MFEE will present ShowUP Montclair - an inspiring, interactive evening of local and exceptional performers and stories that will highlight the power of the arts to uplift the community and the power of the arts to empower and support the emotional and educational growth of our students.

This virtual event will feature incredible Montclair talent and share some success stories from Montclair schools. Acts will be announced over the next month. “Celebrities” who normally walk the Montclair School hallways will strut their stuff on the virtual stage. Glenfield Vice Principal Frances Aboushi who hosted Showdown 2018 will be back to make sure there are plenty of laughs. Stephanie and Dane Mautone, a local brother/sister duo who competed on John Legend's team on The Voice last year, will wow the crowd, as will other musicians, magicians, and artists from the community.

Tickets are on sale now, and the cost of each ticket is a tax-deductible donation to MFEE. General admission tickets are $25. With a VIP pre-party ticket for $250, attendees will mix it up before they show up: ingredients for an interactive cocktail mixing competition will be delivered to their door for them to enjoy, as they are treated to an exclusive virtual party and pre-performance with two surprise professional singers! Buy tickets at givebutter.com/showupmontclair.

Most importantly, a portion of proceeds will help fund MFEE’s Arts Open Hearts Initiative. Last year, our community suffered great losses to suicide, and our schools continue to report a spike in teen anxiety and depression during the pandemic. In response, MFEE created a new fund called Arts Open Hearts. This campaign funds initiatives which integrate social and emotional learning into the arts to create engaging experiences through spoken word coaching, ballroom dance residencies and other innovative educational experiences. These initiatives continue to grow, expand, and develop, even during this period of remote learning.

MFEE is grateful to ShowUp Montclair’s lead sponsors, The Bravitas Group and BDP Holdings, for showing their dedication to the social and emotional health of Montclair’s students. Additional thanks to Yarnia, Assemblyman Thomas Giblin, and Baristanet for their sponsorship of the event.

To join ShowUP as a sponsor, visit http://bit.ly/ShowUpSponsor.

To learn more about Arts Open Hearts and see videos of the programs in action, visit http://bit.ly/artsopenhearts.

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